Adhyaya 6 — Balarama’s Dilemma, Drunken Wanderings in Revata’s Grove, and the Slaying of the Suta
कृष्णेन हि विना नाहं यास्ये दुर्योधनान्तिकम् ।
पाण्डवान् वा समाश्रित्य कथं दुर्योधनं नृपम् ॥
kṛṣṇena hi vinā nāhaṃ yāsye duryodhanāntikam / pāṇḍavān vā samāśritya kathaṃ duryodhanaṃ nṛpam
„Wahrlich, ohne Kṛṣṇa werde ich Duryodhana nicht nahekommen. Oder: Wenn ich bei den Pāṇḍavas Zuflucht genommen habe, wie könnte ich mich König Duryodhana nähern?“
{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "dharma", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
The verse highlights dharmic prudence in political engagement: one should not approach a hostile or unrighteous power-center without proper guidance, protection, or a righteous framework. Invoking Krishna signals reliance on divine-aligned counsel; invoking refuge in the Pandavas signals moral alignment—once one has taken a side grounded in dharma, opportunistic switching or courting the opposing king becomes ethically untenable.
This passage is best classified under Vaṃśānucarita/Carita (narratives of royal lineages and exemplary conduct) rather than Sarga/Pratisarga/Manvantara/Vaṃśa proper. It is an ethical-political episode embedded in the Purana’s narrative instruction rather than a cosmological or manvantara-account.
Krishna functions as the symbol of buddhi (discriminative intelligence) and dharma-guided strategy; ‘not going without Krishna’ intimates that action in conflict must be yoked to higher discernment. ‘Taking refuge with the Pandavas’ symbolizes commitment to a dharmic center—once inner allegiance is given to righteousness, approaching the adharmic pole (Duryodhana) represents a violation of inner integrity.